There are many countries such as Spain, Italy, USA, etc. that attracts millions of tourists every year. Some of them are rich of historical landmarks and monuments, beautiful raised parks and gardens, well established museums and galleries, etc. that are worth to visit.

There are plenty of well established travel literature and books on the market that may help you to find those hidden gems. Here is a list of my travel literature I love to read:

Some highlights of the beautiful moments and breathtaking impressions from the eye of a traveler:

Amazing shots of Plouzana Lighthouse in France

Lovely view on a stunning landscape of Vietnam

Beautiful view on Paris and River Seine, France

Oldest Pont Neuf Bridge on river Seine in Paris, France

Alternatively, you can search for recommended travel routes or itinerary by searching for key words like this ‘What to do in Madrid in 3 days’ or ‘Free things to do in Madrid’ on Google.

On the other hand I found many up-to-date sites offering really valuableinformation on fingertips about a travel destination like TimeOut or The Culture Trip.

Those useful information helps me to plan my Days Out and to choose the travel routes wisely.

Exploring the holiday destination

[02] Pack the luggage in advance

Part of my preparation for my upcoming journey is to pack my luggage in timely manner and like a PRO. In my previous travel episode I explained how I pack my luggage like a PRO. Packing in advance helps me later on to travel with ease and comfort.

When I have to buy a luggage, I choose to buy a hard cover luggage that stands on four wheels, does not weight too much, has no zip, is secured with a key or number lock and is a known brand.

I love the brand American Tourister. The luggage comes in different sizes and in fancy colors. In my experience the luggage from this brand may not be the cheapest, but the quality of the item convince me and the cost usually pays off over the time. My oldest luggage is 12 years old and is still fully functional.

Below is a collection of popular choices for an American Tourister luggage:

Packed luggage for my next trip

After this I review my travel routes and itinerary and (where possible) reserve my seat, select my meal preferences and check-in online. This saves me a lot of time and hassle.

Did you know that many of the airlines can issue the boarding pass as a PDF file or can check-in your carry-on luggage on request?

Once accomplished, I check that my passport and (where applicable) the visas are valid, my travel vaccinations are up-to-date and are in place.

I also give in advance a call to my local cab / taxi company to reserve my cab. I recently started to use Uber as an alternative options. You can use the following promotion code for Uber: mohammeda48320ue

Book a cab with Uber

[03] Familiarise with the travel route

I usually work out the fastest (and cheapest) travel route from home to departingairport and from arrivingairport to hotel using Google Maps and Street View. This helps me a lot to identify the location of my hotel later on and to familiarise with the location of my destination.

You will be surprised that you will find pictures of streets in exotic countries like Bangladesh on Google Maps and Street View.

Amazing view on the sky from the aeroplane

[04] Good sleep and a quick shower

Travelling more than two hours is always exciting, but also tiring. I usually have a quick shower and a good sleep before the break out.

Take a rest with a good sleep

On long journeys I prefer to take light meals and drink plenty of water to keep me hydrated. I consider also to bring my own refreshments (e.g. healthy snack) instead of buying them expensively from the airport or air plane.

Eat healthy and delicious snacks

[05] Free or paid walking tours

Have you ever tried to go for a free or paid guided walking tour in your holiday destination? This is currently a popular trend which is offered to tourists in major cities like Berlin, Madrid, New York, etc. to explore some of the popular attractions and landmarks of a city by foot. Those tours are often offered in many commonly spoken languages such as English, Espanol, Francais, Deutsch, etc.

Beginning from last year I started to go for many of them offered in Madrid. In my upcoming travel episode about the ‘Madrid Tours‘ I will review and highlight some of the best walking tours offered in Madrid.

Not all historical landmarks and monuments or even popular attractions can be easily explored in a timely manner by foot or a rental bike. When traveling e.g. to a city for a weekend I prefer to go for a Hop-On, Hop-Off city bus tours. They are right now very popular and offers often more than one travel routes connecting many places of interest or tourist attractions.

It is always wise to scan important travel documents as an image file and store them encrypted on a secured platform like GoogleDrive, DropBox, OneDrive, etc. . Those files do always become handy in an unexpected emergency such as a lost or stolen wallet.